The present invention relates to room partition systems, and more particularly to wall systems that extend from the floor to the ceiling.
Typically a floor-to-ceiling wall partition system includes a series of wall panels that are secured in some manner to both the floor and ceiling, and are secured to adjacent wall panels. In some systems the wall panels are hung from a series of vertical studs that are supported between the floor surface and ceiling. Since this type of wall partition is often later added to existing and older buildings, the vertical studs must each be levelled in order to accommodate the variation in floor-to-ceiling spacing that results from settling of the building. Typically to level the wall partition either each individual stud or each individual wall panel must be separately levelled to accommodate this spacing variation. Although the individual levelling of each panel assembly maintains the alignment of accessory mounting brackets and the like on any given wall panel, this individual levelling does not maintain the alignment between accessory mounting brackets on adjacent panels. Further, the individual alignment of each panel assembly or each vertical stud can be a time consuming process that greatly increases the assembly time for the partition wall.
Additionally, in floor-to-ceiling wall systems that utilize vertical studs as support members, each stud must be vertically aligned in order to permit proper hanging and support of the wall panels. Again, the vertical alignment of each individual stud can be a time consuming and tedious process. This time required for alignment of each vertical stud is increased even more in wall systems in which the adjustment of the vertical alignment for one stud also requires adjustment to the levelling of the stud. The variation common to older buildings in vertical alignment of structural walls against which the partitioning wall is erected further complicates the task of trueing the wall partition.
Another common feature of many wall systems is the provision of slotted wall standards or brackets that are used to hang wall accessories such as cupboards, shelves or the like. One problem associated with the use of such wall mounted accessories is the use by different accessory manufacturers of different spacings or patterns for the mounting hooks on the accessories. The wall mount accessory will therefor only mate with a wall partition of that manufacturer and cannot be used with other wall systems manufactured by other companies. This reduces the variety of wall accessory units that may be used with any given wall system.